Dicteriadidae

Dicteriadidae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Zygoptera
Superfamily: Polythoroidea
Family: Dicteriadidae
Selys, 1853[1]
Genera[2]
Map showing global distribution of Dicteriadidae
Distribution of Dicteriadidae
Synonyms[3]
  • Heliocharitidae Tillyard & Fraser, 1939

Dicteriadidae is a small family of damselflies in the superfamily Polythoroidea, endemic to South America.[4] The family contains only two living species, Dicterias atrosanguinea and Heliocharis amazona, each representing a monotypic genus.[2] Members of the family inhabit tropical forests of the Amazon Basin and surrounding regions and are notable for their slender bodies, extremely long legs and distinctive wing venation.[1][5]

First recognised by Sélys in 1853, Dicteriadidae is one of the oldest family-level lineages recognised among damselflies.[1] Although the family has been known under several different names during its taxonomic history, modern classifications recognise Dicteriadidae as a distinct South American lineage containing only the genera Dicterias and Heliocharis.[6][7]

Description

Dicteriadids are medium-sized damselflies with slender bodies and remarkably long legs. The wings are strongly stalked at the base and possess a distinctive venation pattern that has long separated the family from other damselfly groups.[1] Males have simple upper anal appendages and greatly reduced lower appendages.[1]

The family contains only two species. Heliocharis amazona is a bluish-green species with a long, expanded pterostigma that occurs throughout parts of the Amazon Basin.[1] Dicterias atrosanguinea is a smaller reddish species with exceptionally long, slender legs, known principally from northern South America.[1] Despite more than 170 years of study, no additional living species have been recognised, making Dicteriadidae one of the smallest damselfly families.[2]

Taxonomic history

The lineage was first recognised by Edmond de Sélys Longchamps in 1853 as the Legion Dicterias, comprising the genera Dicterias and Heliocharis.[1] During the twentieth century, the group was treated under several different family names, including Heliocharitidae and Dicteriastidae.[8][9]

Modern classifications recognise the family as Dicteriadidae, the oldest available family-group name for the lineage.[2] The name is based on Sélys' 1853 "Legion Dicterias", which corresponds to a modern family-level taxon. During the twentieth century the group was variously referred to as Heliocharitidae, Dicteriastidae and Dicteriidae, but Dunkle (1991) concluded that Dicteriadidae is the correct family-group name under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[3][6][10]

In 2026, Carter and colleagues placed Dicteriadidae within the newly recognised superfamily Polythoroidea, together with Heteragrionidae, Hypolestidae, Mesagrionidae, Philogeniidae, Polythoridae and Rimanellidae, reflecting phylogenomic evidence for their close evolutionary relationships.[4]

Species

The following species are currently placed in Dicteriadidae:[2]

Etymology

The family name Dicteriadidae is derived from the type genus Dicterias, with the standard zoological suffix -idae used for animal families.

The genus name Dicterias is presumably derived from the Greek δεικτηριάς (deiktērias, "female mime" or "female mimic").[6][11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Selys-Longchamps, E. (1853). "Synopsis des Caloptérygines". Bulletins de l'Académie royale des sciences, des lettres et des beaux-arts de Belgique (in French). 20 (Annexe): 1-73 [54] – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Paulson, D.; Schorr, M.; Abbott, J.; Bota-Sierra, C.; Deliry, C.; Dijkstra, K.-D.; Lozano, F. "World Odonata List". OdonataCentral. University of Alabama. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 Bridges, Charles A. (1994). Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Odonata of the world (3rd ed.). Urbana, Illinois: Charles A. Bridges. p. II.1. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15291.
  4. 1 2 Carter, Payton; Goodman, Aaron; Abbott, John; Bota Sierra, Cornelio; Bybee, Seth M.; Dow, Rory A.; Fomekong Lontchi, Judicael; Frandsen, Paul B.; Gonzalez Mozo, Laura; Guralnick, Rob; Hämäläinen, Matti; Joshi, Shantanu; Kohli, Manpreet K.; Lupiyaningdyah, Pungki; Montana, Katherine O.; Newton, Lacie; Onsongo, Violet; Orr, Albert G.; Pinto, Ângelo Parise; Sanchez-Herrera, Melissa; Sutherland, Laura N.; Theischinger, Gunther; Ware, Jessica L.; Zhang, Haomiao; Kalkman, Vincent J. (2026). "The classification and diversity of extant dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata)". International Journal of Odonatology. 29: 95–124. doi:10.48156/1388.2026.1917385.
  5. ↑ Fleck, G., Neiss, U. G., & Hamada, N. (2012). The larva of Dicterias Selys, 1853 (Odonata: Heliocharitidae (= Dicteriadidae)), and taxonomic and phylogenetic notes on Heliocharitidae. Zootaxa, 3164, 32-40.
  6. 1 2 3 Dunkle, S.W. (1991). "Review of the neotropical damselfly family Dicteriadidae (new spelling), with an annotated bibliography (Zygoptera)". Odonatologica. 20 (4): 401–416.
  7. ↑ Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.; Kalkman, Vincent J.; Dow, Rory A.; Stokvis, Frank R.; Van Tol, Jan (2014). "Redefining the damselfly families: A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Zygoptera (Odonata)". Systematic Entomology. 39 (1): 68–96. doi:10.1111/syen.12035.
  8. ↑ Tillyard, R.J.; Fraser, F.C. (1939). "A reclassification of the order Odonata based on some new interpretations of the venation of the dragonfly wing. Part II". The Australian Zoologist. 9: 195–221 [207].
  9. ↑ Montgomery, B.E. (1959). "Geographical distribution of the New World calopterygine dragonflies, with notes on their evolutionary position". In Hewer, H.R.; Riley, N.D. (eds.). Proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Zoology, London, 16–23 July 1958. London: XVth International Congress of Zoology. pp. 1001–1003.
  10. ↑ Trueman, John W.H. (1999). "The Family-Group Names Based on Selys' Légions". International Journal of Odonatology. 2 (2): 141–144. Bibcode:1999IJOdo...2..141T. doi:10.1080/13887890.1999.9748125.
  11. ↑ Sophocles, E. A. (1860). A Glossary of Later and Byzantine Greek. Memoirs of the American Academy. Vol. 7. London: Trübner & Co. pp. 624 [244].
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